Solving Problems Begins at the Level of Cause, not at the Level of Effect

Changing what happens on the outside begins by changing what happens on the inside

Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash

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One of the major themes discussed throughout the Course is that of cause and effect. The Course recursively returns to discussions on cause and effect, and repeatedly draws attention to our thoughts functioning as the cause for how we experience our lives, and our external experiences as the effect of how we think.  In essence, the Course is calling on us to take responsibility for how we think, and to remain alert for the thoughts that we choose to engage with. 

Chapter two of the text states,

The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think.

It is here, in our minds, that we are called to make the decision for love, for God, and for peace. By taking responsibility for our thoughts, we can begin to be less reactive to external situations and circumstances. We begin to realize that our happiness, our peace of mind, and our joy is not reliant upon an external situation, event, or individual. We begin to recognize that we do not have to be at the effect of something or someone else. Inner peace, joy, and happiness come from within. This is the realization of one’s truth and one’s power.

The Course reminds us that our thoughts are the cause for how we experience the day to day circumstances of our lives. In every situation, we must decide between love and fear. This is the choice that must be exercised-we have to choose one or the other. One choice will lead to peace, an experience of oneness and of joy, whereas the other choice will lead to an experience of fear, anger, and guilt.

Everyday, at all times and in all circumstances, we are being called on to make this choice. We cannot help but to make this choice. We make this choice in how we engage with each other. We make this choice in how we go out into the world each morning as we go to work. We make this choice in how we interact with our loved ones, our friends, and even our enemies. It is up to oneself to decide how one thinks. This is our free will.

Chapter two of the Course texts states,

Both miracles and fear come from thoughts. If you are not free to choose one, you would also not be free to choose the other. By choosing the miracle you have rejected fear, if only temporarily…The cause and effect principle now becomes a real expediter, though only temporarily. Actually, "Cause" is a term properly belonging to God, and His "Effect" is His Son. This entails a set of Cause and Effect relationships totally different from those you introduce into miscreation. The fundamental conflict in this world, then, is between creation and miscreation. All fear is implicit in the second, and all love in the first. The conflict is therefore one between love and fear.

When we recognize the level of cause in all that is happening in our lives, and when we address matters at the level of cause, we can begin to change the effects. The effects, or what we perceive to be happening to us, are symptoms and not the root issue. Individually, we are called to attend to our thinking and, by doing so, transform the experiences that we have.

As shared in the previous quote from the Course, God is our cause and we are His effect. God (beyond the scope of any definition provided by a religion, spiritual system, or philosophical framework) is likened as a mind, and we are His thoughts. Lesson 45 of the workbook states,

“...thoughts do not leave their source.” 

Reality is beyond the illusions of time and space. Reality is the ongoing, endless, and eternal state of union that is called heaven. Thus, our ultimate reality, our truth, is that we are one with God, and we are like God. We can never leave our reality, but we can dream that we have left our reality. What we are called to do is to “wake up”, and remember where we truly are, and who we truly are.

When we choose to recognize that God is our cause, that we are his effects, and that by extension, the thoughts we think lead to the effects we experience, we are able to more fully take responsibility for the contexts of our lives.  

A means of taking responsibility for our thoughts is through the process of atonement, or the undoing of thought patterns or ways of thinking that are grounded in fear. We do this not by denying or ignoring negative thought patterns or pretending we do not experience them. We do this by bringing these thought patterns to our awareness and making the choice to let them go. We do this by recognizing that the negative thoughts are only injurious to oneself, and the attainment of peace can manifest by atoning and choosing to align our thoughts with the will of a higher power. For some, atonement might begin with meditation and prayer. It may begin by taking a moral and spiritual inventory of oneself and recognizing how one may move more fully into a space of love and peace. 

The Course in Miracles, the text and workbook, provide multiple prayers that are inspiring and up lifting. One of the most beautiful prayers in the Course is in chapter 2. This prayer draws attention to our higher function and the relinquishment of any negativity that we might be holding. 

I am here only to be truly helpful.

I am here to represent Him Who sent me.

I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me.

I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.

I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.

No matter the problem or external situation, it all begins with how we choose to think and, thus, how we choose to react. 

What are your thoughts? Do you have a favorite prayer or quote from the Course? Please feel free to share below!

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